Six terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the Kot Azam area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan district, the military’s media affairs wing said on Wednesday.

According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), an intense exchange of fire took place between security personnel and terrorists during the operation conducted on May 23.

“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorists who remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces as well as extortion and targeted killing of innocent citizens,” it said.

The ISPR further stated that sanitisation of the area was being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area.

“Locals of the area appreciated the operation and expressed their full support to eliminate the menace of terrorism,” the military’s statement added.

On May 21, two soldiers were martyred and three terrorists were killed during an operation in the Tank district.

Pakistan has seen an uptick in terror activities, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November.

In his maiden press briefing last month, ISPR Director General Maj Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that at least 293 people were martyred and 521 were injured in 436 terrorist incidents over the past year.

In KP, 192 people were martyred in 219 terror activities, while 80 people lost lives in 206 incidents in Balochistan, 14 people in five attacks in Punjab, and seven in six terrorism incidents across Sindh.

He had said that the army and law enforcement agencies carried out 8,269 intelligence-based operations during the previous year in which 1,378 suspected terrorists were apprehended and 157 were killed.

The DG ISPR had also said that overall 137 security personnel were martyred and 117 injured in anti-terror operations in the ongoing year.